Post a request on your local Freecycle group .. it is a Yahoo group that you have to sign up for but everything is free.

Laura

Ask at your local nursery.
My local nursery has a bin of pots people have returned.
Ian

Peatpod, thanks for that suggestion ~ I will give it a try.

Ian, also a good idea. The problem is, the largest nursery near us removed their recycle pot bin a couple of years ago. They were having to pay to have all the 'junk' hauled away. That used to be a fabulous spot for me to pick up good pots to reuse.

I would hate to have to buy new pots
1. expensive
2. seems a shame when I just know there are lots of pots out there .... somewhere :o)

a.

I would chat with the garden nursery maintenance people to see if you can have a few set aside before they get discarded.

One other thing, on my way to Loblaws(grocery) I noticed large pots - containers used in their fall plant sales just being stacked up in the back ready for recycling... - Talk to their managers to see if they would offer your charity a few.

If this is going to be a regular thing, organize a way to get free containers from your neighbors... Sometimes they just need to know where to bring their old pots.

Also try looking in developers areas for discarded plastic containers which where used for paints or plaster..

Also, try talking to areas doing recycling. (ie. the dumps) to see if they come across these things.

Ianna

There are always cheap or free pots out there!

If you don't need a lot of them right now, and just want to get a good supply for general use, you could get in the habit of going for a walk on recycling days. In the spring I can get 30-40 pots in an hour of walking - admittedly most of them are 4" pots, but a good third of them are 6" or larger. I have even found some very nice terra cotta and ceramic pots in the recycling bins.

In my area there is a recycling centre where you bring large items that the trucks don't pick up - they have hundreds of pots there.

One local nursery was willing to sell me used 12" black nursery pots for 25 cents each (ask if you can buy them - many places won't give them away but might sell them). I bought about 20 of them.

Check with the city department that deals with the public plantings - I have picked up several pots and trays to hold them from the workers in the spring. They probably have a central depot or greenhouse where it might be a good place to check.

If your local grocery store, community centre, or library has a buttetin board where you can post notices, you can put something up there - lots of people are more than happy to have someone come pick up their old pots, and many will even drop them off.

BP

It may be slim pickings now but perhaps you could ask anyone at your place of work if they will be throwing away any pots they just happened to keep this past gardening season. Tell them you are interested in any size!
Also, in the parking lots of major nurseries, I've observed pots and trays left on the bottom of the carts. Just lucky for me that day perhaps.
Landscaping is still being done in newer subdivisions and as Bonnie suggested going for a walk (ride) in town on recycling day is a very good idea.
sam

Thanks so much to all of you. I have already passed this information on to two of my friends and I'm sure it will be useful to anyone reading this thread. Both those disposing of pots and those looking for pots.

REALLY GREAT IDEAS!
A.